Heroic Gravel at Nova Eroica

Last Saturday we participated in Tuscany's Nova Eroica Gravel Race. This event is typically held in April but had been rescheduled to July for this year. This event is one of Italy's premiere gravel races and organized by the Eroica Group. It attracts a large contingent of not only professional-level racers competing on the event's long course, but also many that simply want to enjoy the area's amazing Strade Bianche "white roads" in one of the event's shorter routes.

The festival atmosphere of the event's start/finish town of Buonconvento is great to walk around the day before the event as well as after the race. Typical weather for Tuscany in July is hot and dry, but this year's event saw cooler temperatures and a very light drizzle for most of the day. This was a very welcome relief for our participating cyclists as it does make for and more enjoyable ride - both the filtered sun and the misted gravel provided great conditions.

This year's long course was 82 miles and 7800ft of elevation. Many of the famous sectors of Strade Bianche are used including the Monte Sante Marie (Fabian Cancellara), San Martino in Grania just to name a couple. The official results of this race are determined by the riders cumulative time over several timed sections. While the rest of the route is "untimed" and "neutral", the race does play out somewhat like a traditional race.

We managed to make the initial front group of 20 or so which formed in the first km and spent that first hour before the first actual timed gravel sector of Monte Sante Marie with the lead group. We simply rode at our own pace towards the front of the pack. Enjoying the food stops and scenery, we rode tempo until the finish. It was a really fun day on the bike and we were happy to finish the long route with the top cyclists. Definitely a Class A event added to the memory book.

If you’re interested in participating in this premiere Tuscany Cycling Event in 2022, get on our list today by submitting a request! This is a limited space trip, so reach out today!